


Tarnished

by veridian



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 04:39:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14742150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veridian/pseuds/veridian
Summary: There is no place in paradise for rebels, but it's no easy task to cast them out.





	Tarnished

“And what should we do with this one?” Michael unceremoniously drops something onto the floor in a heap. “I don’t think a reprimand is going to do him any good.”

Lucifer looks down at what it is she’s brought him, and his eyebrows knit together in concern for just a moment. He knew it was only a matter of time before Sandalphon was found, of course.

But he’s been dreading this, so he had been hoping it would take a little longer.

Sandalphon forces himself upright, arms shaking with effort to haul himself off the floor. Michael puts her foot on the small of his back, shoving him back down. “You think I’ll let you so much as stand in the presence of the supreme primarch?” she snarls, fire in her voice. “If you’ve anything to say, do it from the ground.”

Lucifer can’t say he’s thrilled with the way she’s handling this, but it’s certainly true that keeping Sandalphon restrained is safer for everyone, so he lets it go. “She’s right, Sandalphon,” he says, tone deliberately flat. “If you have anything to say, let me hear it.”

Sandalphon laughs bitterly, an ugly sound bubbling up from being buried under years of resentment, and Michael presses down harder, cutting him off. “You think,” he wheezes, short of breath, “I believe you will _hear_ anything I tell you, Lucifer? I am not the naive child you thought me.”

“Really?” Michael asks, digging in her heel. Sandalphon groans in pain. “An assault on the supreme primarch is far from anything a mature adult would do, is it not? Whining so ingloriously and lashing out when you fail to get your way is exactly what a spoiled child does.”

“Michael,” Lucifer says sternly, and she obligingly stops talking. “Sandalphon,” he tries again, “the Astrals are clamoring for your punishment. If you have anything to say in your defense - ”

“Kill me, then.”

“I will not do that.”

“Kill me!” he screams, a desperate howl, as he shoves himself upward again. Michael briefly loses her balance, but runs her sword through his hand when he reaches for Lucifer, pinning it to the ground. “I have nothing to say to you! I rebelled against you, and I have no regrets about it. I would stand and fight you even now if your dog would extract her teeth!” In response to this, Michael slams her foot down right between his shoulders, sending him back down onto the floor and leaving him with a nasty cut on his chin.

“Even so, I will not kill you, Sandalphon.” 

Lucifer crouches despite Michael’s protests and strokes his cheek. “Don’t touch me!” Sandalphon snarls as he pulls his head back and bites his hand, drawing blood. Murder flashes in Michael’s eyes, but a cold look from Lucifer prevents her from acting on it.

Lucifer stands, regarding his hand with disinterest, and extends a third and final offer to Sandalphon. “Please do not make me do something drastic. You have lost. Your rebellion is over. And I do not wish to see you punished to the extent that the Astrals see fit. If you offer an apology - ”

“Never.” 

Lucifer pauses, a difficult expression on his face. Apologizing is so simple, an honest expression of good faith, so why is Sandalphon refusing to do it? He’s running out of options to belay some kind of punishment, and Sandalphon seems to revel in it, twisted determination in his eyes growing stronger with every show of defiance.

What happened to him? And how could Lucifer have not noticed such drastic changes until the rebellion started?

“Supreme Primarch,” Michael says, and Lucifer is swiftly brought back to the scene before him. “I recommend…”

“I know what you recommend, Michael,” he says, hollowly, “and I have already told you I will not allow it.” He puts a hand to his forehead, suddenly overcome with a headache. Thinking so much about this hurts. Thinking about having to punish Sandalphon, _Sandalphon,_ the one person he cherishes above all others, hurts.

Thinking about the hate in those fiery crimson eyes hurts.

“Take him to Pandemonium,” he says quietly, unable to come up with anything else, shoulders slumping and wings drooping in defeat.

Sandalphon freezes, the defiant smirk on his face giving way to something resembling apprehension before evening out into a shaky facade of nonchalance. Michael nods, pulls her sword out of the ground, and snaps her fingers, sealing Sandalphon into a twisted, spiral of fire. “You should have apologized when you had the chance,” she says. “Perhaps then you’d have been spared an eternity in hell.”

As she moves to lead Sandalphon away, the spiral moves with her, burning him if he doesn’t follow obediently behind her. The smell of charred feathers and blood follows them as they leave, and a cold silence overtakes the room as Lucifer is left by himself.

“Sandalphon,” he asks, far too late for it to matter, “what could I have done to prevent this?”

**Author's Note:**

> to be continued? maybe.
> 
> am i ever going to get tired of writing lucifer being an absolute failure at communication because he doesn't want to rock a single boat, unable to comprehend that sometimes boats rock anyway? probably not
> 
> uhhhh my twitter is @duobrando if youre interested im a shy shitposter but i like talking to you guys in the comments so if you...wanna say hi...that's cool and fun


End file.
